Detent assemblies can be utilized in a variety of applications to provide tactile feedback to a user and switch control of electronic elements utilized in various applications. For example, in hearing devices and hearables such as headphones and hearing aids, common tactile detents found, e.g., on battery doors and rocker and slider switches rely on physical contact between two interfering elements. These elements can be metal or plastic and are designed to use interfering domes or arms that move across one another. Some of these types of detents require that such elements be stressed or compressed until they “pop” over a restriction and rest in a cleared, restrained position. These mechanisms require significant internal volume for the acting features to reside and closely-held tolerances to be effective. There are, however, practical limits as to how small mechanical detents can be manufactured. As features of these mechanisms are reduced in size, internal stresses increase but must be kept below the yield or ultimate strength of the materials used. In addition, smaller mechanisms require thinner wall sections that flex under load, which in turn can prematurely cause the mechanism to fail.
Some detent assemblies include pairs of magnetic components that define detent positions by an attractive force between the magnetic components. A magnetic flux between the pairs of magnetic components changes based upon the amount of overlap between magnetic regions on each of the magnetic components. These changes in magnetic flux define detent positions between the magnetic components.